Realistic Reaction to this declaration?

Final confrontation time. Two former friends. both from the army. One is the Big Bad "Sky" and the other is basically The Big Guy "Flak"

During a training exercise, Sky was rocketed of a cliff due to Rocket Launcher recoil. He's horrifically injured and on the verge of death. Flak, having a healing factor, donates part of his spine to help reconstruct Sky, saving his life. Unfortunatley Sky's now going to be in constant pain for the rest of his life due to the surgery. He also never found out that Flak ever helped him, since during Sky's recooperation, Flak stumbled across top secret military secrets. He was Mind Raped and discharged from the military, all information related to him was hushed up aswell, so the doctor's never told him who he got the transplants from. Sky's wife leaves him due to his scarred appearance, and he's discharged from the military. Sky remembers that Flak purposefully caused the injury to him that day, and vows revenge. To do so he enlists the help of gangsters, black market WMD's, Bounty hunters, a city full of mind controlled innocents, and eventually an actual god. Sky stopped at nothing and slaughtered millions in the pursuit of revenge.

The two stand face to face, both have godlike powers by this point. Flak remembers that day and tells him about what really happened, and that the injury was caused by an accident Sky caused when Flak tackled him out of the way of something that would have killed him. Sky looks back in time and sees that this was in fact how it happened. How should Sky react? I had him becoming somewhat humbled for a second, then stating that he's too far gone to stop now, and that if Flak had any ideals at all, he wouldn't try to save him. They then mutually agree that their next Beam-O-War will be their last. Is this realistic? Or am I too Idealistic?

How would you describe Sky's personality? Is he kind at heart? Depressive? Machiavellian? I can only say it would take a lot to convince Sky otherwise after all his efforts for revenge.

edited 14th Jun '11 3:07:35 PM by QQQQQ

He was a depressive because of all his pain. He masked it with a facade of anger and smugness when in front of his underlings, but in front of the scant few he trusted (his two dragons) he was always in low spirits. He's highly intelligent and has a penchant for manipulating people. Hatred for Flak was pretty much the only thing that kept him on his feet. (becoming godlike removed his pain but he still vividly remembers it)

I suppose Sky would like to lash out his pain against Flak, after so long. And Flak, however much words he would say, it wouldn't shake Sky off his dark course. If you've seen Shakespeare's Othello, the titular character cannot bear listening to Desdemona's "lies" as he goes to strangle her.

Unless Flak comes up with some proof - like a recorded image or the like, it would turn out a tragedy for the both of them.

By that point, they're fighting over the power of a god. I was going to have Sky look back in time and see the event happen. Question is would he trust Flak enough to try it?

I flip a coin. It's heads.

I think there is essentially one choice for Sky to make; to trust or not to trust? And whether which ending you might imagine, you can lead Sky down one path through enough persuading his character - that is, so his motivations are consistent and it doesn't look like he makes his choice on a whim.

Really questioning whether the backstory would really explain him becoming a villain - plenty of people go through chronic pain that they believe someone else caused and don't become the Big Bad. So, I'm suspecting he had some preexisting character flaws. What would they be? Is he a psychopath (they can be pretty vengeful)? Was he abused as a kid and somehow taught that suffering means you lash out? (Maybe had an abusive parent with some kind of chronic pain who used the pain as an excuse?)

That would influence what his reaction is to realizing he was mistaken.

Everything after the accident is supposed to be a massive Trauma Conga Line for Sky, so that by the end of it, all he has left is a thirst for revenge, he has NOTHING left, no job, a horifically scarred body, no wife, no one to help him cope, he also finds out that his best friend caused his dreadful situation, and abandoned him, Sky just snaps.

He's highly intelligent, but also single minded. He has the ability to form an intricate Xanatos Gambit, but oftentimes will overlook something because he's so focused. He has the capacity to understand when he's overdoing something, but everyone he meets is either passive, agrees with him, or is his enemy, he doesn't have anyone he cares for to call him out on his actions. In fact when one of his dragons does just that after he blows up a (mostly evacuated) city, he starts to show a little remorse, but then the heroes arrive and he impulsively abandoons her to save his life. He thinks she's dead, and his desire for revenge grows even stronger. That's when he really starts pulling out the stops, and does some really monstrous crap.

I had hoped that giving him godlike power, and therby curing his pain would make him more open to the concept of listening to people.

I don't see an adult turning evil from that, really. Suicidally depressed, sure, but not evil. It'd be different if it was a kid, because then they never really got to know any different, but adults already have certain parts of their identity fairly set.